KEVIN Thomson looks set to be handed a recall to the Middlesbrough first-team following the news Nicky Bailey could be sidelined for two months.

Bailey has been ruled out for between four and eight weeks after being diagnosed with a medial ligament injury to his knee, picked up during last month’s 1-1 draw with Peterborough.

It is a blow for Boro given the fact Bailey has been one of their star performers this season, following his conversion to a defensive midfielder.

However, with one player going into the treatment room, another is coming out.

Midfielder Thomson has had horrendous luck with injuries since his move to Teesside 18 months ago but is now back in training.

Manager Tony Mowbray sees him as the man who can plug the gap left by Bailey’s enforced absence.

He said: “Nicky has damaged a medial knee ligament.

“Anyone who has ever had one before in the professional game knows it is something which can either clear up pretty quickly or drag on for a bit.

“Players are quite delicate towards the end of recovering from a medial injury because it is the kicking of the ball which is the problem.

“Kevin has had a tough time with injuries. He needs to find consistency of fitness first before performance.

“Hopefully, this period will give him the opportunity to do that.

“Kevin was a big signing at the time he was bought because of his experience and quality, and to help the team by playing in that sort of role.

“What we would hope in a month or so is that Kevin is available to play in every game.

“We will try and manage his rehabilitation back to the point where he does that. The boy broke his leg at the start of his time here. Then he kept going off with a stress fracture which had not really been diagnosed. So he has had a tough time.”

Mowbray added: “Sometimes when players have been out for a long time they do go through a period of frustration where their body re-adjusts to the demands of the professional game.

“From having a knee injury for six months to coming back on, you end up picking up calf strains or thigh pulls because you have not worked at the intensity for a long while, despite working hard to get fit again to get back to the point of playing a football match again. You look at Liverpool at the moment with Steven Gerrard.

“He is now fit, yet he has been sub for the last two or three games because they have been trying to manage his rehabilitation back to full fitness, which is what we have been trying to do with Marvin (Emnes) and Kevin.

“Kevin is a high-quality football player and it has to be our wish to have him out there as soon as possible.”

With the January transfer window only a few days old, all eyes are on Mowbray to see who he will be able to bring in for the big promotion push.

Two things are for certain, though. Firstly, anyone coming in is likely to be a striker and, secondly, it will take time – maybe not until the final day.

Mowbray added: “We are not looking to strengthen the side in the areas where we have all the injuries at the moment.

“The bigger picture is to strengthen the areas of the team which need strengthening.

“We have been talking to other clubs. It is not as easy as picking up the phone, asking about a player and them saying we can have him.

“People should not be amazed deals do not get done on day one of a window because business is not that easy.”